lundi 21 juillet 2014
EUROPEAN LE MANS SERIES ; L'ACO lève le voile sur la nouvelle catégorie LM P3 !
Attendue depuis un bon moment, la catégorie LM P3 est maintenant bien réelle avec une présentation faite sur deux continents, à savoir sur le Red Bull Ring pour l’European Le Mans Series ainsi qu’à Inje Autopia pour l’Asian Le Mans Series.
La philosophie imaginée pour cette voiture est de présenter le moins de contraintes possibles, qu’elles soient budgétaires, techniques, de pilotage comme d’exploitation. Le règlement technique des voitures sera figé au minimum pour trois ans et ce règlement sera en vigueur au moins six ans. Les performances de ces voitures meilleures d’environ 2 secondes au tour – sur un circuit conventionnel – par rapport aux LM GTE. Les normes de sécurité imposées sont celles requises par la Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile.
Pierre Fillon, Président de l’Automobile Club de l’Ouest : « De la base au sommet, nous voulons permettre aux pilotes, équipes et constructeurs de s’engager en endurance. Pour les pilotes, nous promouvons une formation spécifique qui part de l’endurance karting – avec les 24 Heures Karting – jusqu’aux 24 Heures du Mans automobile. Nombre des derniers vainqueurs de cette course ont fait leur classe sur les circuits du Mans. Pour les équipes, il manquait une voiture rapide, sûre, peu onéreuse qui puisse leur permettre d’appréhender au mieux la discipline puis de gravir un à un tous les échelons. Cette LM P3 constitue le socle de notre pyramide consacrée aux différentes LM P. »
Vincent Beaumesnil, Directeur Sport de l’Automobile Club de l’Ouest : « Nous avons décidé la création de cette LM P3 afin de prolonger la logique de la filière de l’endurance. Ce prototype totalement nouveau, mais à la silhouette familière avec les différentes LM P sera à la fois hautement compétitif, robuste, sûr mais en plus commercialisé à des prix raisonnables et exploité à faibles coûts. On estime le budget annuel sur une saison ELMS majoré d’à peine 20 % par rapport à celui d’une CN fermée, tout en ayant un positionnement de produit bien supérieur. Nous avons tout imaginé pour que le niveau de contraintes pour les pilotes et les équipes soit le plus faible possible. Le règlement sportif régissant ces LM P3 dans les séries où elles évolueront sera lui aussi adapté à ces contraintes économiques sans pour autant dégrader la performance, la sécurité et la qualité du spectacle. »
Gérard Neveu, Directeur Général de l’European Le Mans Series : « La création de la catégorie LMP3 est une bonne nouvelle et sera assurément un atout dans le cadre de l’European Le Mans Series, un championnat d’ores et déjà destiné à offrir un terrain d’entrainement de choix pour les pilotes et les écuries désireux de faire de l’endurance à haut niveau. Les voitures de type « Sport Prototype » sont l’essence même de l’endurance, cette première catégorie de prototypes permettra à de jeunes écuries de mettre en valeur de nouveaux talents dans le cadre de l’ELMS. Nous accueillerons avec grand plaisir les participants à cette nouvelle classe dans notre série en 2015. »
Mark Thomas, Directeur Exécutif d’Asian Le Mans Series : « Pour l’Asian Le Mans Series, le lancement de la LM P3 est un pas en avant important pour le développement des prototypes de type Le Mans en Asie. Dans notre région en pleine croissance, il existe une demande réelle pour une catégorie de base, dotée d’un prototype économique qui peut permettre aux équipes comme aux pilotes d’effectuer leurs débuts en endurance. Nous avons déjà été en ce sens en 2014 avec l’ajout de prototypes CN en Asian Le Mans Series. Cependant, la LM P3 offre la meilleure solution à long terme grâce à cette voiture créée par l’ACO. Nous sommes convaincus que cette plate-forme sera particulièrement bien accueillie en Asie. Nous disposons désormais d’un panel de voitures idéal, à la fois pour appuyer le développement de l’Asian Le Mans Series tout en contribuant activement à la pyramide de l’endurance de type Le Mans, qui permettra à l’endurance automobile de se développer parfaitement dans notre région. »
Châssis et carrosserieCes éléments seront très proches de ceux des LM P actuelles à savoir :
- Châssis carbone fermé doté d’un arceau de sécurité métallique
- Des dimensions à peine inférieures aux LM P ;
- Un crash test obligatoire ;
- Une visibilité garantie identique ;
- Aileron de requin ;
- Ouvertures au sommet des passages de roues ;
- Poids compris entre 870 et 900 kg ;
- Direction assistée obligatoire ;
- Planche sous le châssis.
La construction de ces châssis est libre à tous constructeurs. A noter que les sociétés suivantes travaillent déjà sur la création de LM P3 ou se sont montrées intéressées : Onroak Automotive, SORA/Sébastien Loeb Racing, Tatuus, Riley-Scott, Norma et Juno.
Moteur
Le groupe motopropulseur sera unique et identique pour tous les châssis. Il est actuellement en cours de définition (finalisation avant la fin juillet). Il s’agira d’un V8 atmosphérique développant environ 420 chevaux. La boîte de vitesses sera semi-automatique avec six rapports et palettes au volant. L’électronique sera fournie par Magneti Marrelli.
Cet ensemble sera commercialisé par la société ORECA qui fournira aux équipes une assistance spécifique sur tous les circuits des différents calendriers. En tant que fournisseur exclusif de ces ensembles, ORECA n’est pas autorisé à développer ou commercialiser des châssis LM P3.
Un seul bloc motopropulseur sera autorisé par voiture et par saison et chaque ensemble sera garanti 10 000 km, entre deux révisions, sans maintenance.
Pièces communes
Un certain nombre d’autres pièces communes seront imposées aux différents constructeurs et équipes de manière à maîtriser les coûts de fabrication et d’exploitation. Ils pourraient tenir aux roues, freins, réservoirs, éléments de sécurité…
Pneus
Ils seront de tailles similaires à ceux utilisés en Porsche Cup. Chaque championnat fera appel au manufacturier de son choix ; manufacturier imposé à tous les concurrents de la série.
Ils seront de tailles similaires à ceux utilisés en Porsche Cup. Chaque championnat fera appel au manufacturier de son choix ; manufacturier imposé à tous les concurrents de la série.
Coûts
La commercialisation de ces voitures par les constructeurs aux écuries ne pourra être supérieure à un prix d’environ 195 000 € (châssis : environ 135 000 € ; groupe moteur : environ 60 000 €).
L’exploitation d’une voiture par saison ELMS sera contenue entre 350 et 400 000 €. Ainsi, pour une voiture pilotée par trois pilotes, le budget requis par pilotes pour une saison entière sera aux alentours de 120 000 €.
Exploitation sportive
Les règlements sportifs des différentes séries seront aménagés en conséquence de l’introduction des LM P3. Néanmoins quelques éléments ont déjà été définis.
Cette voiture sera éligible en Asian Le Mans Series et European Le Mans Series à partir de 2015.
D’autres courses et championnats pourraient adopter rapidement cette voiture. Des discussions à ce sujet sont en cours entre l’Automobile Club de l’Ouest et différents promoteurs.
Cette LM P3 ne sera pas autorisée à être alignée en FIA WEC, aux 24 Heures du Mans ainsi qu’à la Journée Test des 24 Heures du Mans.
A noter qu’en Asian Le Mans Series 2015, les voitures du Groupe CN seront encore autorisées en plus des LM P3, mais que ces mêmes CN ne seront plus admises fin 2016.
De manière à contenir les coûts de personnel sur les circuits, European Le Mans Series se chargera du ravitaillement en essence des voitures en course (pas des changements de pneus).
En ELMS, un maximum de quatre personnes sera ainsi nécessaire pour aligner une LM P3 en course lors d’un meeting contre huit actuellement en LM P2 et que six à huit personnes seront suffisantes pour l’ensemble d’un week-end LM P3 contre une vingtaine en LM P2.
Speed Metal At The Le Mans Classic
I must have seen the well over one and a half thousand beautiful cars at this year’s Le Mans Classic. Six hundred-plus in the paddock. Easily another thousand spread across the sprawling car clubs on the Bugatti circuit. New, old and older; road and racers: so many to take in. I let my lens lead me to these Spotlights, choosing a selection of cars that I had unconsciously paused at for just that little while longer, drinking in a fuller view.
Firstly, there was this early example of an E9 BMW 3.0 CSL running in privateer hands.
There might have been plenty of BMWs to choose from, but I loved the oh-so-’70s colours it carried, and the fact it looked like it had lived a little. This was no museum piece, that was for sure.
The CSL was the homologation special created by BMW so they could make the 3.0 CS a more competitive proposition. Launched in ’71, it was Schnitzer who initially recognised the car’s potential for the track – the powerful three-litre M30 straight six was the major factor, though initially the car was heavyweight compared to the opposition.
So BMW engaged Karmann, who had also been involved with the Neue Klasse 2000CS I highlighted in my previous story, to help develop a new, lightweight version (hence the L for Leicht) for the road, with the newly formed BMW Motorsport Division honing it for the track. Year after year they evolved, becoming increasingly steroidal, eventually turning into the wide-body Batmobiles we know and love.
However, although plenty of the later CSLs were dotted around the paddock, I was drawn to this ’72 model, which clearly showed the small bodywork changes that were made on the first racers. It had the new splitter, but not the rear wing: it turned out that the long rear of the coupé produced lift, which is what led to the development of the iconic wings and bonnet strakes.
What am I saying, small bodywork changes?! It’s these big flared fenders which stand out in every sense, far less subtle than the sculpted versions to come on later CSLs, and exactly the kind of thing that’s again in vogue with modern bodykit designers. This car was on the reserve list in Plateau 6 and didn’t seem to make it out on track all weekend: though with the rear-end grip possibly a little sketchy, maybe that was no bad thing!
There are a number of specialist British sportscar manufacturers who hit real highs in the ’70s,particularly Lola but also Chevron. The smaller B8 always looks like great fun, but its bigger sister the B16 caught my eye at Le Mans.
The attractive shape is one thing, with its curvaceous front and kick tail – like a more compact Lola T70 – but with this particular B16 it was also the motivation out back.
Pretty much all these cars were built to take different engine packages, to be sensible from a sales point of view. But what surprised me was that this was one of two B16s using Mazda rotary power. In fact, a B16 was the first rotary-powered car to run at Le Mans.
In 1970, a Belgian team installed a tiny dual-rotor 10A, qualifying in a respectable 41st. Not bad for a car with just 982cc (2x 491cc) at its disposal.
The cars are now made as period-correct continuation models by Chevron, and the rotaries are available as retro-fit options – BMW and Cosworth FVC being the popular choices in period.
Not only does the rotary engine sound beautiful, but it also makes fire – and a pair of Mazda-powered B16s were out at Le Mans. Perfect!
Next up, a Prancing Horse – crossed with a killer whale. The badge says Ferrari; the colour says Ferrari; angles like this say Ferrari. But this was a steroidal, pumped up Ferrari, the likes of which I don’t think have been seen since.
The 512 BB LM is an almost mythical Ferrari for me. It seems so un-Ferrari like – almost brutal, certainly in comparison to the cars that proceeded it. There was the overtly beautiful 512 sportscar that went up against the Porsche 917 and then the almost stock 365 Daytona that was campaigned in private hands as the ’70s progressed. And then this.
That’s not to say that I think the 512 BB LM an ugly car: far from it. It fits in perfectly with the Group 5 aesthetic, and I love it for the same reasons I love a sledgehammer K3. These were absolute beasts. Ferrari had been busy with their Formula One programme, but then the plugging away of Luigi Chinetti’s famous North American Racing Team in GTs persuaded Ferrari to return to the sportscar arena – just as Group 5 was kicking off.
Everything about it was designed around power and speed, from the glorious flat 12 to the big, streamlined body crafted in Pininfarina’s wind tunnel. You can barely see the original shape of the 512 Berlinetta Boxer that theoretically lies within, buried under the expansive bodywork extensions. It’s a Ferrari in mecha battle armour.
The interior of the cockpit was spartan, as racing cars were in this era: simple switchgear, exposed fuses, all square-cut metal plates and very basic roll-cage. It’s interesting to see how far forward the driver sat – look how much the cut-in off the front-right wheel arch imposes on the leg space.
As was the norm during this era, 25 were built for homologation purposes: and I saw five at the Le Mans Classic.
This beautiful BMW was being shown off in the BMW Classic exhibition alongside a DTM M3, McLaren F1, M1 ProCar and 320 tourer – yet it was the replica 328 that really stood out. Insanely narrow, to the extent that you’d think it would have a terrible manner, in fact the car was an absolute powerhouse in competition.
If the CSL showed BMW getting back on top in racing, the 328 Touring Coupé represents a previous period of domination, and one from a long way back. At first look I would have placed the 328 as coming from, say, the mid to late-’50s, but in fact the coupé-bodied 328 set the Le Mans 24 Hours alight in 1939, winning their class in a record time and coming home fifth overall.
328s had raced at Le mans in open-top form since ’37, but this gorgeous streamlined bodywork was created by Carrozzeria Touring of Milan for improved aero on the fast endurance tracks.
That meant the employment of Touring’s patented Superleggera process: narrow-diameter tubes covered with thin alloy panels to give lightness and strength.
The 328 was one of the first cars to benefit from Touring’s system, along with several variants of the Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B.
The 328 mounted drum brakes all round to control those solid, narrow wheels, and its inline six put out a handy 136hp to make for a top speed of 140mph – plenty good in a car weighing only 780kg. That’s not too far off Lotus Elise figures!
Here’s a meeting of worlds – a clashing of titans. The Chevy Monza was built to IMSA AAGT rules in the US to put pesky Porsche Carreras to the sword, but it also then headed across The Pond to take on Porsche in their own playground of Le Mans in 1976.
The Monza qualified a respectable 14th overall, second in IMSA and not too far off the fastest Greenwood Corvette and BMW turbo Group 5 cars, but dropped out with axle trouble in the race. It shows you learn a new thing every day: I hadn’t known that the DeKon prefix to these cars came from a concatenation of the D in Lee Dykstra and the K in Horst Kwech, both renowned racecar designers. Dysktra was also responsible for the amazing JLP4 I saw at Goodwood – and so many more amazing designs besides.
As with all this era of IMSA/Group 5 racers, there’s a street car buried in there somewhere, but the Monza has some particularly interesting lines. It shows off a classic ’70s wedge at the front – a look adopted by their Vauxhall cousins in the UK for the Firenza – and gives you a good idea of the chunky fronts but simply enormous rubber at the rear.
The ultra-wide fenders at the back are a given, but it’s the low-line wing, sloping tail and big ducts at the rear that make the Monza a little different. You can just see that this thing was built for speed.
DeKon Monzas dominated IMSA GTs in ’75 and ’76, but the incoming 935s proved irresistible, both on track in terms of results and also to IMSA competitors, where grids were flooded with the new generation Porsche.
In an effort to get back on par with the new 935s the Monza grew a turbo and even more out-there bodywork for 1978. That’s another car on my long list that I need to see in action!
I’ll finish with something appropriately French and archetypically quirky: Facel Vega. There was a whole group on display in the expansive car club area, and these were cars I’d been wanting to get a closer look at for a while.
My first glimpse of a Facel Vega was many years ago in a queue trying to leave the Goodwood Revival: the car had grace and refinement, yet sounded amazing – there was definitely a V8 soundtrack – and despite being a big car looked streamlined and sporting.
The company barely lasted a decade, from ’54 to ’64, yet made eight different models – perhaps that’s why they didn’t last… The line-up at Le Mans seemed to have most of them as well, including this pair of Facel IIIs, and the gorgeous curves of the classic HK500.
There’s a lot of individuality and spirit in the designs, and you can certainly see that the Mercedes designers might borrowed one or two things for the Pagoda…
Check out the wraparound windscreen for instance, giving that raked forward look to the cockpit, and the pillar-less sides. It has such clean lines: a svelte wrapper for the sledgehammer Chrysler HEMI engines that occupied the spaces under the bonnets!
The rear lights in the HK500s are beautiful art deco sculptures, with their extended centre detail extending up and over the top to further accentuate the shape. So much detail! Unfortunately as Facel Vega moved away from tried and trusted American engines for their later models their problems increased. Patriotism and passion were all very well, but rather like with Aston Martin’s David Brown, Facel Vega were losing money on every car sold… Just under a thousand Facel Vegas were built in total, and the survivors are rightly taken good care of by their proud owners. The height of sophistication!
Jonathan Moore
FOUNDRY MC TIGER 45
Hook, Line & Sinker… I’m enrapt. Now, I’m not a Harley man, I’m not even a bobber fan, but this one is simply a fantastic bike and I genuinely want it. I need to own one. Don’t get my opening statement wrong. There’s nothing wrong with a Harley Davidson, and plenty of my mates ride them and love them. They are a biking class all of their own, and H-D has done a lot for the custom scene, but only the odd Buell has ever seriously turned my head – until now. Perhaps I can’t shake some of my ex-sportbike snobbery or perhaps the weight of my wife’s XB9 has never left me.
It all changed when Tom & Simon from Foundry Motorcycle arrived to set up their mini-shop at the BSMC III event with a few bikes to decorate their plot, and two stunning machines rolled onto the carpet. The first was a Matchless, which also rewrote a few opinions, and the second was this bike. Foundry’s Tiger 45.
Foundry partners Tom and Simon do all the fabrication and spannering in house at their Chichester-based shop, while keeping the coffee bar, shop and web store up and running in their spare time.
Customer Simon was one of a few recent visitors who fancied Foundry’s “Old 56” Triumph bobber, but his mates all rode Harleys so this build was a chance to join his mates – and make a statement too.
“The stars must have been in line that week as we’d just taken delivery of a T110 tank with a nice film of rust and lack of symmetry via Ebay. It’s such a cool looking tank and the plan of squashing it down over the top of a Harley Sportster was hatched. A session with Photoshop and we had the buy-in from Simon and a deposit. We seemed to have met the brief of Meriden meets Milwaukee pretty well spot on.”
“Originally, we thought the donor was to be a black engine, alloy wheel 883, but to keep the ‘old school’ flavour it really had to be spoked wheels. Within a couple of weeks we had a low mileage 10 year, bike in the workshop from local dealer P&P. The orange flame tank, massive fenders, hi rise bars and naked lady sprung seat were sold on Ebay which softened the financial side of the project a fair bit and gave Simon a warm glow. Always good at the start of the journey!”
“From an engineering and fabrication point of view, it’s a relatively straightforward build, but it was all about altering the visual balance of the bike, getting that spot on and giving it some attitude. The rear wheel was stripped of it’s 16 inch rim and replaced with a narrower 18 to balance more with the front 19 and give the bike a more ‘see through’ look. The rear was lowered and the front springs shortened to level the whole thing out. A pair of Avon Road Riders and ‘hey presto’ it’s looking like a proper motorcycle.”
“The only frame mod needed was to tidy up the ‘chainsaw’ subframe amputation from the original chop. Work then began on squashing the T110 tank lower and lower over the heads. Three days and a complete new tank base saw the job done, with adaptation to the Harley mounts and closing in the Triumph top tube cut out.”
“The original quote for the project relied on keeping the Harley hand controls and switchgear. It’s pretty bulky stuff and too modern for the look we were after, but would unfortunately have to stay. Now, good customers are the ones that not only get really excited about what you’re creating, but say ‘if you need a bit extra’ to make it even better, I think there’s a bit more in the pot… Hand controls resolved!”
“First off, the Biltwell Tracker bars sported Kustom Tech raw ally brake and clutch levers with Moto Gadget M switches in MG’s own machined mounts, but the mounts stuck out as way too big and modern so the bars were drilled and built up to take the switches directly. Worth every minute of the welding and fettling, the clean look of the bars really makes the bike, whilst still keeping a full set of controls.”
“As well as take the build towards the old style bobber that Simon originally liked, we’ve tried to ‘lighten the look of the bike as much as possible and on the right hand side we’ve machined away all the excess metal on the engine casings and chopped back the drive pulley cover which really shifts some visual weight and gives the ‘impression’ of a separate engine and gear box.”
“The seat, exhaust and baffles (it really does need them) and rear light were all made in house. The adapted powerboat air scoop facing forward gave some ‘running issues, but this was resolved by choking down the inlet with our patented baffle, a Sainsbury’s measuring spoon. It’s all been topped off with a speedo from Digital Speedo’s and a deep dished 7 inch classic ‘hot rod’ headlamp.”
“In terms of issue’s, pushing the tank down over the engine whilst still keeping the original bottom edge intact was the only real sweat. We’re really happy with the bike and it rides beautifully. Shedding a load of weight has helped, but sorting the balance of the chassis and adding decent tyres has made a massive difference. And, it’s comfortable.”
“It’s been so successful as a build that we’re thinking of ‘son of’ and maybe even ‘daughter of’ Tiger 45, so get your order in now and we’ll see you at the Goodwood Revival in September!”
So, inspired by a Triumph, and built for a Harley-ist, this bike has turned me into a fan of the heavy American twin. To me it’s the prominent tank and large headlight that transforms the build, shrinking the 45 degree Harley V Twin in proportion to the rest of the bike, and different most other Harley customs which would usually have tiny tanks and mini headlamps. The effect is to rebalance the whole silhouette, and the end result is a very desireable bike.
Check out Tom & Simon’s shop & cafe in Chichester and see more from them online on The Bike Shed’s Foundry MC pages and on their Facebook and Website.
via The Bike Shed
Inscription à :
Articles (Atom)